Player scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half. In the last three minutes, she made a 3-pointer, had a steal and saved a loose ball rebound after a Baylor shot.

Baylor (27-5) won its second Big 12 Championship. Fourth-seeded Texas A&M (25-7) was foiled in its attempt to win its second consecutive Championship.

Backet babbleAll the waiting and speculating will end at 5 p.m. CST Sunday when the 2009 NCAA Men's Tournament bracket is announced.

As evidence that there are folks with too much time on their hands, The Bracket Project is a web site that compiles any and all projections made by professional, semi-professional and amateur bracketologists.

News and links* Kansas State's Shalee Lehning, Oklahoma's Courtney Paris and Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley are on the final ballot that determines 2009 Wooden Award All-American team and Player of the Year.

* Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com writes that Texas coach Mack Brown doesn't approach his job like a coach who is considering retirement in the near future.

* Colorado was scheduled to play at Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 12 but it appears the Mid-American Conference school wants to cancel the game.

Points of contentionPoint: Oklahoman columnist John Rohde had these comments in a column about Baylor's men's team before it defeated Texas - "It’s a team you should beat because the Bears frequently help you do it. Pardon the bluntness, but BU is widely considered the worst-coached team in the league."

Counter point: Baylor coach Kim Mulkey Saturday afternoon said this - "In defense of our men's basketball coaches ... our men are on a great run here. It is a great Cinderella story and he tainted it by what he wrote in that article by saying our men's basketball coaching staff is highly regarded as the worst coaching staff in this league. Now, guys, that's a cheap shot. What if we walked up to him and said, 'That's the worst article I have ever read in my life'? Now that I got that off my chest, next question."

OKC is OK with FennellyIowa State coach Bill Fennelly didn't like the fact his team went home a day early but he totally satisfied with the postseason experince in Oklahoma City.

"The people here are amazing," he said. "It reminds me of home. The people in Iowa are the nicest people there are. They care about one another. They want to help people. It is the same thing here.

"The people here and the effort they put into this event and the things that they do here to allow the student-athletes to have the memories that they have should be commended because that's what this tournament is about.

"It is about creating an atmosphere for the fans, but certainly an atmosphere for the student-athletes to enjoy this and our players have been treated great. They have enjoyed every minute of it. As far as I'm concerned if it is Kansas City and Oklahoma City every time, I vote yes.

Friday, March 13

Baylor 76, Texas 70The streak is over.

Baylor ended a 24-game losing streak to Texas and continued its dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament with a 76-70 victory over the Longhorns Saturday. The ninth-seeded Bears advanced to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship game for the first time in school history.

Seniors Kevin Rogers (20 points), Henry Dugat (17) and Curtis Jerrells beat Texas (22-11) for the first time in their careers. Baylor (20-13) can earn the Big 12's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament if it wins Saturday's championship game. The Bears will play the winner of Missouri-Oklahoma State.

Something differentYour Humble Correspondent spent Friday afternoon across the street from the Ford Center at the Cox Convention Center. YHC had an enjoyable couple of hours watching Texas A&M edge Kansas State, 65-63, in a quarterfinal game in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Championship.

Some observations (made with due respect to Mechelle Voepel, who is covering the women's Big 12 Championship like a Snuggie; check out her Courtside Blog).

* A year ago, Kansas State's Championship run ended when a last-second shot against Iowa State rimmed out. As Yogi Berra would say, deja vu all over again. Trailing by two, Wildcats point guard Shalee Lehning scrambled in the lane for a loose ball, grabbed it and found teammate Ashley Sweat. Her 12-footer hit iron twice before falling off the rim. Four Kansas State players flopped to the floor.

* Texas A&M's Danielle Gant, playing in her hometown, made the game winner with a drive and short shot with 25.3 seconds remaining. She finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and held Kansas State leading scorer Marlies Gipson (22 points) scoreless over the last 6:49.

* Earlier in the game, Sweat missed a layup after taking a sweet pass from Danielle Zanotti. Sweat grabbed her miss and scored. On the way down court, Sweat pounded her chest and said "My fault" then pointed to Zanotti and said "Good pass."

* Anyone coaching youth basketball teams - particularly boys' teams - should have their teams watch women's collegiate games. The fundamentals - defensive stances, shot fakes, blocking out on rebounds - are outstanding. Particularly in the Big 12, the women play the game the right way.

Kansas Senate: No more Killer BsBucknell. Bradley. Baylor.

The Kansas Senate has had enough. The state's politicians endorsed a resolution that would prevent Kansas from ever playing another “B” team in March. The resolution states, “we declare the team should not play any more teams that begin with the letter ‘B’ in the month of March.”

The resolution, SCR 1850, passed on a voice vote Thursday afternoon and is symbolic only.

Kansas won the national championship last season and didn't face any teams that stared with the second letter in the alpahbet.

The Jayhawks actually have trouble with "Killer BBs." They've lost to the Bucknell Bison, the Bradley Braves and Baylor Bears.

Q and A with DeLoss DoddsBerry Tramel of the Oklahoman did a quick Q and A with Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds.

How does Texas fall on the question of the Big 12 Tournament? Should Oklahoma City be in the rotation with Kansas City? Dodds: Oklahoma City does a great job. Good city. Good arena. I’d like to see the football (title) game go to Dallas and flip the basketball tournaments between Oklahoma City and Kansas City. That would be a natural way to do it.

We know Texas fans were displeased with the Big 12 3-way tiebreaker in football. How about the Texas administration? Dodds: It is what it is. That’s what it is. You expect the kids to take it and go on. That’s what we’ve got to do, too.

Will Texas propose a change? Dodds: I’ve got an interest in looking at it. It appears to me, looking at other conferences, most of them try to get it down to two, then go head-to-head. I’m not saying that’s the best. Of course, if we lead the way and get it changed, we’ll get caught on the other side, because that’s the way life is.

Big 12 places three on Wooden Award ballotThree Big 12 players are among the 24 players on the ballot for the Wooden Award. A.J. Abrams of Texas, Sherron Collins of Kansas, Blake Griffin of Oklahoma are on the ballot. The award, named after legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and presented to the nation's college player of the year, will be presented April 10 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Texas coach Rick Barnes will receive the Legends of Coaching award at the event.

Thursday, March 12

Missouri 81, Texas Tech 60No upset here. The third-seeded Tigers became the only higher-seeded team to win in the quarterfinals Thursday. Missouri pulled away late in the first half and dominated in the second half.

The Tigers will face No. 7 seed Oklahoma State in Friday's second semifinal.

DeMarre Carroll had 19 points to lead the Tigers. Mike Singletary followed his 43 point effort in the first round with 17 points.

Missouri 31, Texas Tech 31Little was decided in the first half of the final quarterfinal game in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship. While No. 11 seed Texas Tech was able to build a 23-15 lead in first 11 minutes, the third-seeded Tigers were able to force some turnovers and forge a halftime tie.

Based on the earlier results, the Red Raiders appear to have a shot to pull off an upset. The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds lost - the first time that's ever happened in the quarterfinals.

Oklahoma State 71, Oklahoma 70The seventh-seeded Cowboys advanced to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship semifinals and might have secured an NCAA Tournament bid. All that's nice, but the real satisfaction for Oklahoma State is that it beat its rival.

In a Bedlam game played on a neutral site, the Ford Center was split in orange and crimson. And it came down to the final seconds as James Anderson's free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining provided the winning points.

Oklahoma State (22-10) will play the winner of the Missouri-Texas Tech game in Saturday's semifinals. Oklahoma (27-5) might have cost itself a shot at No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with its early exit.

Oklahoma 34, Oklahoma State 33The second-seeded Sooners could never pull away from their Bedlam rivals. Oklahoma State did a nice job of containing Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. He had 11 first-half points but didn't record his first field goal until the 7:27 mark.

The Cowboys' Obi Muonelo, who had a strong performance in the opening game Wednesday, came off the bench to score 10 points and keep Oklahoma State within a point at halftime.

Texas 61, Kansas State 58The fifth-seeded Longhorns battled and scrapped to a 61-58 victory over the fourth-seeded Wildcats. The loss might have ended Kanas State's hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Ron Anderson gave Kansas State a 58-57 lead with 1:39 remaining when he made one of two free throws. Pittman countered with a 3-point play to give the Longhorns a 60-58 lead with 1:14 remaining. Pittman also grabbed a key defensive rebound, was fouled made made one of two free throws for the final margin.

Kansas State's Denis Clemente, who scored 44 when the teams played in the regular season, missed a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds. He finished with 10 points.

Texas advances to the semfinals where the Longhorns will face ninth-seeded Baylor, which upset top-seeded Kansas earlier Thursday.

Kansas State 29, Texas 27Denis Clemente, who scored 44 when the Wildcats won in Austin in January, was scorless until the final seconds. But his 3-pointer from deep gave No. 4 seed Kansas State a 29-27 halftime lead over fifth-seeded Texas.

Kansas State's biggest lead of the first half was 19-14. Texas' zone defense did a nice job slowing the Wildcats' offense but Kansas State countered by pounding the offensive glass. The Wildcats got 12 of their 20 rebounds on the offensive end.

Jacob Pullen had 10 points for the Wildcats, who shot just 31.3 percent. The Longhorns had 12 first-half turnover and were led in scoring by Dexter Pittman with nine.

Baylor 71, Kansas 64Ninth-seeded Baylor repeated and made some history Thursday. The Bears' game-closing 18-6 run stunned top-seeded Kansas, 71-64, in Thursday's opening quarterfinal game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship.

It's only the second time the No. 1 seed has lost its opener in the Big 12 Championship. Iowa State lost in 2001 ... to Baylor. Kansas suffered its first opening day loss in 12 tries.

Kansas trailed 30-13 with 7:08 remaining in the first half after Baylor's Curtis Jerrells buried a 3-pointer to beat a dwindling shot clock. The Bears controlled the game up to that point but the Jayhawks were able to rally and reduce the deficit to 37-33 at halftime.

Kansas had a 58-53 lead with eight minutes remaining but Baylor launched a 12-0 run with LaceDarius Dunn (24 points) nailing two 3-pointers. His trey off a delayed fast break gave the Bears a 65-58 lead with 3:37 remaining. Kansas countered with 3-pointers by Tyrel Reed and Sherron Collins.

Kevin Rogers' jump hook from the low post gave Baylor a 67-64 lead with just over 90 seconds remaining. Kansas came up dry on next two possessions with Collins missing a drive and a 3-pointer.

Ninth-ranked Baylor (19-13) gets a chance to continue its upset march when it takes on the winner of the second game Thursday, Texas vs. Kansas State.

Gotta click these linksThis isn't about the Big 12 or college basketball but it is about hoops and it's a story that is inspirational. Caution: Have tissues at the ready.

Texas guard Erika Arriaran battled immune system problems as a child but once she regained her health she turned to basketball.

Baylor's Jessica Morrow admits to being a "girly girl" but that image goes away when she takes the court for the Lady Bears.

More NCAA Tournament talkHere's what Seth Davis of SI.com has to say about which teams should be No. 1 seeds.

"I still like that top quartet of Pitt, UConn, North Carolina and Oklahoma. I see some people are already sticking Louisville on the top line based on their outright regular-season Big East championship, but while that is a worthy accomplishment, keep in mind that the Cardinals did not have to play either UConn or Pitt on the road. (They split those two games at home.) Also, their losses are worse than Oklahoma's. Louisville lost at home to UNLV (when the Rebels were without their most important player, Wink Adams), and they lost on a neutral court to Minnesota and Western Kentucky. Meanwhile, Oklahoma lost true road games at Arkansas and Missouri. Their other two losses were at Texas and at home against Kansas when Blake Griffin was hurt. Now, if Oklahoma fails to win the Big 12 tournament and Louisville wins the Big East tournament, then it will be a no brainer to move Louisville up. But those are two mighty big ifs."

Oklahoma's Whitney Hand back at practiceOklahoma freshman guard Whitney hand, who sufered a broken index finger on her left hand on Feb. 21, participated in her first full practice Wednesday. Hand had been limited to non-conference drills as she recovered. Hand is expected to play Friday when the top-seeded Sooners face the winner of the Kansas-Nebraska game.

Memorable performanceYour Humble Correspondent recently became AARP-eligible. That means I've been around awhile I've seen a lot. In covering college basketball for the last 25 years, the conservative estimate is that YHC has witnessed well over 1,000 games.

But YHC witnessed something Wednesday night that he had never, ever seen before.

In the final game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship, Texas Tech's Mike Singletary scored a championship-record 43 points. That in itself is an accomplishtment. But it's how he filled up the scorebook that will forever be encoded in the brain cells.

The Red Raiders rallied from a 21-point deficit in the second half. They did it without pressing and forcing turnovers. The Aggies' certainly contributed to their defeat but Singletary single-handedly pushed Texas Tech into the quarterfinals.

He scored 29 consecutive points for the Raiders. At one point, he scored 33 of his team's 35 points. He made three 3-pointers (he had made seven in the previous 31 games). He dunked, he drove, he converted three-point plays.

In addition to all the numbers, Mike Singletary's performance illustrated that even when a game appears over, it's still worth watching. You might see something you've never seen before.

Wednesday, March 11

Second for SingletaryTexas Tech's Mike Singletary, who set the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship single-game scoring record with 43 points in the Red Raiders' amazing 88-83 comeback victory over Texas A&M in Wednesday's final first-round game.

At one point in the second half, Singletary scored 29 consecutive points for his team. Amazingly, that's not a record.

According to the NCAA, Temple's Bill Mlkvy (known as The Owl Without A Vowel) scored 54 consecutive points on March 31, 1951 against Wilkes. Singletary's 29 in a row is the second-best in NCAA history.

Texas Tech 88, Texas A&M 83Turns out the last game of the day was the best game of the day.

Texas Tech sophomore Mike Singletary scored a Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship record 43 points - 35 in the second half - as the 11th-seeded Red Raiders stunned Texas A&M with a remarkable 88-83 victory in the first round.

The Aggies dominated the first half and built a 21-point lead early in the second half. But Texas Tech had a one-man rally cap in Singletary. He scored 29 consecutive points and 33 of Tech's 35 points at one stretch to fuel a stunning comeback.

Texas Tech (14-18) advances to the quarterfinals where it will face third-seeded Missouri Wednesday. The Aggies (23-8) will hope that the NCAA Tournament committee believes they've earned an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.

Will he or won't he?Iowa State sophomore Craig Brackins had a break-through season, averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per game. His offensive versatility was on display in the Cyclones' final game of the season, an 81-67 loss to Oklahoma State in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship.

Asked if he had decided about returning to Ames for his junior season, Brackins had the usual answer from a player asked that type of question: "I don't know right now."

Iowa State coach Greg McDermott understands what might happen.

"Conversations are ongoing," he said. "It's something as a coach you had better address. It's something that weighs heavily on Craig's mind. We've already talked and we'll talk more.

"Craig will be on spring break next week, he'll go home and spend time with his family. I'll do as much research as I possibly can so he can make an educated decision."

Texas A&M 48, Texas Tech 29The sixth-seeded Aggies continued the strong play that fueled their six-game winning streak to close Big 12 play. Texas A&M jumped to a 10-0 lead and held the Red Raiders without a field goal for the first six-plus minutes of the first half.

With Texas Tech struggling offensively, Texas A&M scored in a variety of ways - off steals and turnovers, on offensive rebounds and 3-pointers. Eight different Aggies scored in the first 20 minutes with Donald Sloan leading the way with 14 points.

Texas Tech trailed 17-8 midway through the first half before the Aggies started pulling away. A&M made 16-of-31 shots (51.6 percent) and 5-of-10 3-pointers.

Oklahoma State's first round victory over Iowa State Wednesday in the Phillips 66 Men's Basketball Championship means that the Cowboys will get another crack at Oklahoma in the rivalry that's called Bedlam.

Oklahoma State will play the second-seeded Sooners in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday. Oklahoma won both meetings this season.

Marshall Moses, a 6-6 sophomore, pump faked, pivoted and battled around the basket for 18 points and six rebounds before fouling out with 2:39 remaining. Craig Brackins led Iowa State with 23 points but 15 of those came in the game's opening 17 minutes. Moses guarded Brackins for most of the game.

The seventh-seeded Cowboys are 21-10. The Cyclones ended their season with a 15-17 record. Beating Iowa State might prove crucial to Oklahoma State's NCAA Tournament hopes.

Iowa State 38, Oklahoma State 35Led by Craig Brackins, the 10th-seeded Cyclones were able to take a halftime lead against the seventh-seeded Cowboys. Brackins had a double-double at the 3:40 mark of the first half - 15 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-10 sophomore scored 10 of Iowa State's first 12 points.

Iowa State went against its usual tendencies by playing a 2-3 zone defense. Oklahoma State made four of its first six 3-pointers but only connected on one shot from beyond the arc over the last 12 minutes of the first half.

Texas, which scored 38 of its points in the paint, took control midway through the first half when it switched to a zone defense. That limited Cory Higgins, the Buffaloes' leading scorer, managed just five points.

The fifth-seeded Longhorns (21-10) advance to Thursday's quarterfinals. They'll face No. 4 seed Kansas State (21-10). The Wildcats won in overtime in Austin in the teams' only meeting this season.

Texas 35, Colorado 29The fifth-seeded Longhorns took control midway through the first half after shifting a zone defense. Against the zone, the Buffaloes managed just two field goals.

Baylor 65, Nebraska 49Baylor extended its season with a dominating second half in Wednesday's opening first-round game against Nebraska. The Bears made 11-of-16 shots (68.8 percent) after intermission in recording the 16-point margin of victory.

The ninth-seeded Bears (18-13) advance to play No. 1 seed Kansas in the quarterfinals at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

Nebraska was just 2-of-18 on 3-pointers in the second half. The Huskers (18-12) couldn't solve Baylor's zone defense and now will wait to see if the National Invitation Tournament comes calling.

Baylor 30, Nebraska 27The ninth-seeded Bears got a solid offensive effort both outside and inside in taking a halftime lead Wednesday in a first-round game of the Phillips 66 Men's Basketball Championship at the Ford Center.

When the teams played Saturday in Waco, eighth-seeded Nebraska had a 26-25 lead enroute to a 66-62 victory.

Junior center Josh Lomers, who averages 2.8 points per game, scored Baylor's first six points and finished with eight in the half. Baylor took its biggest lead of the half at 28-18 with 3:11 remaining. LaceDarius Dunn made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Baylor the 10-point bulge.

Over the next two minutes Ade Dagunduro sparked a nine-point Nebraska run to pull within 28-27. His pass set up Ryan Anderson for a 3-pointer and then Dagunduro scored six consecutive points. One of those possessions was set up when Dagunduro made a steal.

Thoughts and observations, Part OneGreetings from Oklahoma City. We're about 30 minutes from the start of March Madness, Big 12 Edition. The first of four men's first-round games in the Phillips 66 Men's Basketball Championship starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Ford Center. Across the street at the Cox Convention Center, women's teams seeded 5 through 12 are practicing and doing interviews. Check back at the Courtside blog for updated posts throughout the day and through Sunday.

* Missouri held a spirited 45-minute practice Thursday morning at the Ford Center. Yes, it was basically the Fastest 45 Minutes In Basketball.

* Bad news for bubble teams. Wednesday night in Indianapolis, Cleveland State upset Butler for the Horizon League title and NCAA Tournament automatic bid. Butler is likely to get an at-large bid. The Horizon was expected to be a one-bid league so there is one less spot available.

Top seed talkHere's how Pat Forde of ESPN.com breaks down the No. 1 seed arguments for Oklahoma and Kansas:

Oklahoma. Rankings: Fifth by RPI; seventh by ESPN/USA Today poll; eighth by Sagarin; 17th by Ken Pomeroy. Record: 27-4. The case for a top seed: Half the Sooners' losses (including one to Kansas) came without lock national Player of the Year Blake Griffin, who was out with a concussion, and a third came without energy guy Juan Pattillo; quality nonconference wins over Purdue, Utah, USC, UAB and VCU; good conference record in a power league. The case against a top seed: The Sooners have lost three of their past five and haven't played dominant basketball against quality competition in weeks; they didn't win their league - and it's not an epic year in the Big 12 to begin with; any team that loses to Arkansas cannot be a No. 1.

Kansas. Rankings: Eighth by RPI; 10th by Pomeroy; 11th by ESPN/USA Today poll; 11th by Sagarin. Record: 25-6. The case for a top seed: Young Jayhawks have been on a two-month roll, going 14-2 and winning the Big 12 title; they own sharp victories over Pac-10 champion Washington, MAAC champ Siena and SEC East champ Tennessee. The case against a top seed: Two losses against lousy competition (Massachusetts and Texas Tech - the latter just last week); signature victory over Sooners came with Griffin on the bench; smoked in January by top-seed competitor Michigan State.

Tuesday, March 10

Big 12 men's tickets availableA limited number of all session and single-session tickets for the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship are available for purchase. The tournament starts Wednesday and ends Saturday at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.

Prices are $40, $50 and $55 per session, depending on location. On game days, fans can buy tickets at the box office beginning at 9:30 a.m. until halftime of the last scheduled contest of the day. Tickets can be purchased at the Ford Center box office or via all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Cash and credit cards are the only accepted forms of payment.

Fans are advised that Reno Avenue is closed in front of the Ford Center and parking is limited. Parking is available in city-owned garages that are within walking distance of the box office.

Monday, March 9

Time changeFile this under "The Law Of Unintended Consequences."

The Big 12 has always held its men's and women's basketball championships concurrently in the same city. Until this year, the women's tournament always started two days before the men (Tuesday), played its semifinals on Thursday, took a one-day break and then played its championship game on Saturday.

Last May at the Big 12 spring meetings, the schedules were changed for 2009. The men shifted to a Wednesday-Saturday format with the women playing Thursday through Sunday. That means that Thursday, the quarterfinals of the men's tournament go on at the same time as the women's four first-round games.

Even with 24 teams involved, the tumblers clicked into place to create conflicts and potential conflicts for Thursday's schedule.

Three of the four top-seeded men's teams - No. 1 Kansas, No. 3 Missouri and No. 4 Kansas State - were scheduled to play their games in the same time frames as those schools' women's teams were scheduled to play first round games.

Also, if No. 8 Nebraska and No. 7 Oklahoma State win first-round men's games, Thursday games would match the Nebraska-Kansas men's and women's teams at the same time while the Oklahoma State men would be playing later Thursday at the same time as the Cowgirls.

The scheduling conflicts became apparent late Sunday afternoon and Big 12 athletic directors voted Monday morning to adjust the women's opening round times by switching the games in both sessions.